Adoptive Parents Helen and Marcus were placed with their baby girl, CC, through Adoptions From The Heart in the Spring of 2021. Like many Adoptive Parents, their hope, after attempts of conceiving a biological child, was to be chosen by a birth parent to love and care for a baby they would call their own.
“We feel really lucky and blessed with how fast the process has been for us,” Helen said.
Marcus added, “We filled out the application in August of 2020 and got started right away with our classes, completing physicals, and then we were put on the eligibility list in December.”
“Amanda, our social worker, was extremely helpful. There were times that we’d text her, and she was always eager to help us cover all bases. Marcus was skeptical at first and Amanda and adoptions From the Heart were willing to have that tough conversation with us, allowing him to talk to his heart’s content until he was done,” Helen expressed.
While the couple was checking off their eligibility requirements, Helen being a planner, fundraised in preparation for the awaited call that would change their lives for the better.
“Doing fundraisers in COVID was tricky. We had an in-person event planned, but numbers started rising in Delaware, the vaccine wasn’t out yet, so we canceled it. However, we knew people wanted to contribute, so our families came together and planned a Drive-by event for us.”
Helen added, “I’ve cried at the amount of support we’ve received from the beginning. We’ve gotten so much love and support, that it’s overwhelming to think about sometimes; a feeling you can’t quite explain.”
Within four months of finalizing, the couple received the awaited call for emergency placement of their daughter CC. They had anticipated being able to bond with the birth mother before the baby arrived but ultimately understood that adopting can be unpredictable. During their waiting period, the couple admitted to gearing themself up to receive a call about a baby boy. So, hearing that their baby was a girl was an initial shock.
“I get chills even thinking back to that day,” Helen said. “I received a call from Amanda, thinking maybe our profile was missing something. Instead, it was her saying that a baby was waiting for us. It felt expected yet unexpected also. Our family has a lot of girls. We have one nephew and lots of nieces, and I always swore it would be a boy for us. So, when Amanda called with our baby, I was fully surprised that a baby girl was waiting.”
Husband Marcus added, “We also took a class and we’re given a recommended list of baby items to have in preparation of placement. So, even though we ended up having to go shopping, we still had most of what we needed. I recommend that for anyone going through the program. They should want to follow that list as closely as they can.”
Helen and Marcus have been navigating life, as an interracial couple, almost ten years, so their expansion as an interracial family was not as big of an adjustment for this couple. They feel no need to always explain the adoption because they know their daughter will be able to see herself in them as she gets older.
“Custom-made for us.”
“We say that CC was custom-made for us,” Helen said. “We don’t know how this happened, but everything has been great so far. People sometimes say things like ‘You two make beautiful babies’ pointing out how they think she resembles us. Sometimes we correct them and sometimes we just say thank you.”
Helen discussed a little bit about her experiences with infertility and the roles that family and friends played in supporting the couple, emotionally, throughout. It’s clear that Helen and Marcus have each other to lean on, however, extended families also play a big role.
“I’m a pretty open book with it comes to my infertility and coming to terms with whether or not I’d be able to biologically have a child was difficult for me. While I was still going through infertility, I leaned on Marcus’ sister-in-law and my best friend for support. As far as the next generation up, open adoption took a little bit of explaining, but they’ve also been very supportive.”
Because of Covid, Marcus explained that not much has changed after their placement with CC. Now that the world is opening a bit more, they know it’s going to be a bit of an adjustment, navigating the world with their new bundle of joy. The couple mentioned that they have a lot of faces in their lives and want their daughter to know and love them also.
“For the ten days, we were at the hotel after CC was born. We formed a cocoon for two weeks. But, we also didn’t want her to be the type of child that only wants mommy and daddy. We have a big family and wanted her to bond with the people in our lives very early on,” they said.
Helen shares that the one thing that drew them to Adoptions From The Heart was our agency’s mission to provide integral services to Birth families and adoptive families. Knowing that our counselors go above and beyond to maintain openness and transparency was all the solidification the couple needed to leap, after having had reservations.
“It’s been great,” Marcus said. “Coming into it I had a ton of questions, but Amanda and everyone has always been amazing with answering all questions and keeping us in the loop.”
Helen added, “Our experience thus far if we were to consider adopting in the future, we would surely consider Adoptions from The Heart again. Because of efforts the agency spends getting to know their families, we’re now able to tell our daughter more about her birth mother as she gets older. I love Adoptions from The heart. I feel like they made our dreams of becoming parents come true!”
On Behalf of Adoptions From The Heart, we Congratulate Helen and Marcus!
For more incredible stories like this one, please visit our blog! For questions, please visit our homepage at afth.org to chat with someone today!
If you or someone you know are seeking more information about adoption, in real-time, register today for our 3-day Adoptive Parents Committee conference (Nov. 19-21, 2021) at http://b.afth.org/calendar-of-events/index.php. APC’s Conference promotes a better awareness of Adoption and provides Members with accurate information on Adoption and Parenting Issues.
